"He's asking to die." Ada shook her head. They entered the grove. It was a wide, dark little forest with close-growing trees and chirping birds, but otherwise was very quiet.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky pulled her furs a little tighter. It felt ominous. Even the sparse recreational part of this Keep was dark and foreboding. Maybe she wouldn’t spend much time out here after all.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Ada breathed in the scent of pine needles and sighed contentedly, stepping down the path. "This is the only closed-up place up here that actually feels like it could open," she said. "The branches look like they could unfold at any moment."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky nodded, looking up at the trees. “It is nice. To have nature, rather than stone.”
But the stone was still there. Always there.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"It's so different from the South," she mused. "Everything back home is sand and shrubs, and sometimes cactus. It's only green and white up here, over and over. I kind of like it."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky nodded. “I’m from the coast… but things feel… heavier? Here?” And not just her mood. “Old.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Heavier," Ada agreed. "The sky, the ground, everything. It's like you're under a big blanket all the time. Even the people are heavy. Their faces are so still. They move from expression to expression very....consciously."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky nodded in agreement. “They’re solemn. Especially here.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Must be the lack of sunlight. The nobles all have sticks up their asses especially."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky laughed at that. “… the Loquiturs don’t, but, uh… yeahh.”
Tarr definitely did. And Ash… he was well meaning. She was sure of that. But it was hard to deny the stick up his ass.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"I've got to meet them, I think. If they're different than the other two nobles I've met. A low bar has been set." She crossed her arms, looking down.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“Tarr’s bar is so low it’s a tavern in the underworld,” Ky muttered under her breath, hoping it was safe to critique him in front of Ada.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"I'm going to cut off his balls and make him wear them around his neck so he can smell the rot," she growled, tucking her hands deep in her pockets.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky glanced at her, a bit uneasy. Was Ada a threat? Maybe. Not to her, probably. But she seemed far harsher than Ky enjoyed being around. She hesitantly murmured, “No one would mourn him, I’m sure.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Anyone who did would have to be as bad as he is." She picked up her pace. "My mother brought us to the Isi to avoid people like that and now I find myself up here...." Her voice caught and her face twisted in pained frustration. "I want to go home."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
